The present invention relates to apparatus for chunking wood slabs and the like.
A recent development in the field of briquette-like fuel units has been the discovery that chunks of hardwood, such as oak, can serve as an effective, and even preferred substitute for conventional charcoal briquettes. In forming such wood chunks, unused end portions of a log, such as an oak log, are cut into a number of circular slabs, each with a thickness of about two inches. These slabs, which are known in the industry as "lily pads", are each diced into suitable size chunks. The present invention relates to a machine which receives such wood slabs and which cuts, or dices them into chunks.
One object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which operates to dice hardwood slabs, such as oak slabs, having a thickness of about two inches, into chunks.
Another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus which is simple in construction and operation.
The apparatus of the invention includes a rotary drum which is mounted on a frame for powered rotation thereon, and which carries two linear arrays of teeth at diametrally opposed positions on the drum, with the teeth in the two arrays being disposed at alternate, axially offset positions on the drum. A notched anvil in the apparatus is mounted on the frame for reciprocating axially (parallel to the drum's rotational axis) between first and second positions, where the anvil is positioned to intermesh with the teeth first in one and then in the other of the tooth arrays, to effect chunking of a wood slab. The anvil is moved between these positions, in synchrony with drum rotation, by guide structure on the drum defining a path encircling the drum in a plane which is non-normal with respect to the drum's axis, and follower structure on the anvil operatively engaged with the guide structure for following the same during drum rotation.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the guide structure includes a pair of flanges carried at opposite ends of the drum, parallel to one another and occupying planes which are non-normal with respect to the drum's axis. The follower structure includes a pair of rollers mounted on the anvil to contact the inner surfaces of associated flanges during drum rotation.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent when the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention is read in connection with the accompanying drawings.